Car dealerships have existed since the time of Henry Ford and little has changed since then. The dealership typically spans several acres and has a large inventory of cars for the potential buyer to look at and test drive. Many consumers do not like going to car dealerships. They find the locations of the dealership inconvenient, the salesmen pushy and the options overwhelming. As a result, consumers are less apt to picture themselves in the car and ultimately purchase the car.
Technology recently has infiltrated the car dealership space, and some dealerships now allow potential buyers to browse cars online and even schedule a test drive. In the case of a scheduled test drive, a salesman from the dealership brings the car to the potential buyer for an evaluation. This results in additional labor, wear and tear on a new car and still requires a large inventory of new cars.
In addition, Car Dealerships also provide maintenance and repair services to customers who have purchased cars. This requires the Car Dealership to maintain a fully staffed service department and invest considerable money and resources in the tools and equipment needed to perform the maintenance and repair services. Most Dealerships will only service the brand of cars they sell. This often results in Car Dealerships' service departments not being fully utilized. As a result, Car Dealerships are forced to charge more for basic maintenance and repair services than independent repair shops who can fully utilize their resources by servicing many brands of cars. Consequently, many Consumers do not like having their cars serviced at the Car Dealership because they find the locations inconvenient and do not like paying more for the same services they can receive at an independent repair shop. However, Consumers are often concerned with the reputation and the ability of the independent shop to properly service their car. As a result, a consumer must decide between the convenience and lower price of a local repair shop and the peace of mind and higher price of the Dealer-provided service.
Until the current invention, however, it has been impossible to successfully leverage owners who have recently purchased and are happy with a new car. In addition, until the current invention, it has been impossible for Car Dealerships to leverage the independent car repair shops to provide convenient service to the Consumers who have already purchased their vehicles.